Vancouver’s oldest surviving church building may look like it’s closed for construction, but Christ Church Cathedral at Georgia and Burrard is very much open for Christmas.

While the exterior of the Gothic-style Anglican Church is covered in scaffolding and looks shut down, inside, construction isn’t visible.

“People have been asking me, ‘Are you open?’ For lots of people, Christ Church Cathedral has been a place were they’ve come to celebrate Christmas for many years,” said Peter Elliott, dean and rector of Christ Church Cathedral. “My message is we’re open ... with organ, choir, bands, the whole program that we usually offer.”

In a normal year, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services at the church attract about 4,500 worshippers. There are four services on Christmas Eve and two on Christmas Day. About 35 per cent of the Cathedral’s budget comes from donations in the last three months of the year.

The church, which was built in 1894 with a 1940 addition, needed significant upgrades, including a new roof to make it safe in an earthquake. Renovations have been ongoing for 20 years and have cost $21 million, congregation representative Ian Birtwell said. This phase, to add a new roof and build a glass bell tower, will cost $8.5 million.

The first service of the Anglican congregation was held in December 1888, before the building — with its cedar ceiling and old-growth Douglas fir beams and floor — was built, according to a church history.

The building was nearly torn down in 1971, when plans were in place to replace it with a highrise tower designed by Arthur Erickson, the history says. But the public was not in favour of the redevelopment and in 1976 the church was named a Class A Heritage building. Plans to upgrade it were launched in 1995.

Earlier in construction, the church more than doubled the size of its kitchen, from which volunteers feed about 100 hungry people each day.

Simon Down, project manager for Scott Construction Group, thanked the City of Vancouver for allowing the church to get an occupancy permit while construction is being completed so that the kitchen will be able to operate again in January.

Ultimately, the glass bell tower will be on the northeast side of the church and will hold four bells, imported from France. The roof will be made of zinc and is expected to last more than 100 years.

The church is also home to the carved, olive-wood nativity scene that was featured in Woodward’s Christmas windows. Hudson’s Bay donated it to the church on its 125th anniversary in 2013.